WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia’s response to proposed US legislation allowing American citizens to sue foreign governments who have sponsored terrorist attacks is unneeded, Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein told Sputnik on Tuesday.
According to US media reports over the weekend, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir informed US lawmakers last month that Saudi Arabia would sell up to $750 billion in US Treasury securities if the bill moved forward.
"I think it is an overreaction," Feinstein said of the Saudi threat, noting "this bill has no country names in it."
The main co-sponsor of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), Senator Charles Schumer, introduced the bill as a way to bring some justice to the families of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In 2015, a US District Court dismissed a case by family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, brought against the Saudi government for its alleged role in financing and sponsoring the attacks. The case was dismissed on the grounds that Saudi Arabia enjoyed sovereign immunity.
Over the weekend, both Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton announced their support for the bill ahead of the New York primary election.
